Chapter 5.
Sam and Eileen headed straight for the library when they got home. It was the most likely place for Dean and Anael to be and sure enough, there they were. Sam had to smile to himself. They could only be sitting closer together if they shared a chair and they seemed relaxed and comfortable together.
As soon as Dean saw Sam and Eileen, he sat up straighter and his expression became more guarded, but that was to be expected. Sam was glad to have seen the mask laid aside for a moment. Without a word, he put the scan photo on the table in front of Dean.
"What's this?" said Dean, picking it up. Then he smiled as he took in what it was.
"Your niece." said Sam.
"A girl?" said Dean, "We don't get many of them in this family."
"No, we don't." said Sam, "Pretty special, huh?"
"Pretty fantastic." said Dean. He stood and pulled out a chair for Eileen. "You sit down, sweetheart. Gotta make both you ladies comfortable."
Eileen sat. If Sam fussed like that, she would have said something, but she was very tolerant of Dean's need to nurture and protect.
Dean studied the image. After a while he said, "She looks like you, Eileen."
"Told you so." Sam told her, "She doesn't see it, but I do."
"Yeah, the nose, the jaw. She's gonna be cute. Don't worry, Sammy. I bet she'll have your hair."
"What's wrong with Eileen's hair?" said Sam.
"Nothing." said Dean, "You know I love Eileen's hair." He smirked at Eileen and signed, "You're hot."
She grinned and signed back, "Thankyou."
"Could you two at least do your flirting behind my back?" said Sam.
Dean laughed quietly. "Yeah, okay, Sam. I'll flirt with her behind your back in future."
"We thought of calling the Huntling Mary Joanna," said Eileen, "After your mother and Jo Harvelle."
Dean nodded. Sam saw how much that pleased him. "Good names." he said, "Can I tell other people?"
"Tell anyone." she said.
Dean passed the picture to Anael. "There's the new Winchester," he said, "Mary Jo."
Anael looked closely. She looks so tiny."
"I like her best that way." said Eileen, "She'll be hitching a ride with me for a while."
"She's got a hand!" said Anael.
Sam smiled at her. There was something sweet about the delight. "She has two, in fact." he said, "Also a full set of feet."
"And everything's okay?" said Dean, with a glance at Eileen.
"Everything's perfect." she said.
"We got an ETA for Mary Jo?" he said.
"Around the last week in April." said Sam.
"Okay, so we need to have everything ready by then, for a girl. I dunno much about little girls. What do they like?" he said, looking from Sam to Eileen.
"Same as boys, I guess," said Sam, "Dinosaurs, cars and animals."
"I loved dinosaurs when I was a kid." said Dean.
Sam liked that. Mary wasn't even born yet and already she was reminding Dean of good things he had forgotten.
"Me too!" said Eileen, "I had a stegosaurus."
"Dean won me a triceratops from one of those hook things." said Sam.
"You remember that?" said Dean, "You were like five!"
"I remember a lot of the awesome things you did for me when I was five." said Sam. They'd lost the plushy, left behind in some motel when they'd had to move fast, but the feeling of being important to his big brother had lingered a long time.
Dean was getting excited about the future as well as the past and it was great to see. "If she likes dinosaurs, I'm gonna take her around every museum I can find."
"We have to take her to the zoo, too." said Anael, "Could I buy her cute baby clothes?"
"She's gonna need clothes," said Sam, "And they grow quick, so she's gonna need new ones a lot."
Anael laid her hand on Eileen's arm to get her attention. "We could go shopping together, find her all the best things!"
"That'll be fun." said Eileen.
Anael looked pleased. Sam was touched by how eager she was to be kind to his kid and how much she wanted to do stuff with Eileen. Their friendship was great and the ease with which she had befriended everyone in the bunker made her relationship with Dean a lot better. The bunker held his nearest and dearest and she was able to fit in with all of them.
"Sam, do you have a minute?" said Dean.
"Of course." said Sam.
"Let's go to the Dean Cave."
"Okay." said Sam.
As they left the library, he heard Anael say, "Look at that little hand!" and he chuckled.
"Your girlfriend likes babies." he said quietly.
"Yeah. She'd like to adopt, one day." Dean did not elaborate.
When they reached the Dean Cave, Sam said, "So, how do you feel about adoption?"
"I think it's a great idea." he said, opening the door, "She's got a lot of love to give."
"But you'd need to be up for it too." said Sam.
"I get what you're saying, but I'm okay with kids." The degree to which Dean had mistaken hat he was saying was insane.
"You're fantastic with kids. That's not what I mean. It's just a hell of a commitment to her and to the kid and so far, you haven't really talked commitment."
They sat in the recliners. Dean seemed quiet, thoughtful. "It's not easy." he said at last.
"No, I know it isn't."
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, not adoption, the big C."
"Right. Okay." said Sam, trying not to show too much excitement.
"Things are good. Things are frickin' awesome. Anael and I ... well, we got something great between us. I'm happy, she's happy and it's bee over a week since our last fight." From anyone else, that would seem like a red flag, but both of them tended to argue when they were even mildly uneasy, so it was probably just anxiety showing.
"You're good together." said Sam.
"I mean, you heard her talking about the baby."
"Yeah, sounds like she's planning to stick around."
Dean looked relieved. Maybe he'd been expecting more of a struggle to express his feelings, but their brotherly shorthand was serving them well.
"I used to get stressed if they didn't leave after breakfast. Now I hear her talk about the future and it just feels right. I don't want to ever say goodbye to her."
"No, I get that." said Sam. Under the surface, he was thinking proposals, but he knew Dean wasn't there just yet. It was hard enough for Dean to assume she would still be interested in him in a week.
"I'm not taking everlasting love here. That never works out for us ... for you." he corrected himself, unwilling to throw any shade on Sam's marriage, "Butt feels like a thing."
It wasn't exactly eloquent, but it was good to hear. Sam tried not to push too hard, but he believed in Dean and Anael and now it seemed like they might be starting to believe in it too.
Sam nodded carefully. "I think so too." he said.
Dean's voice became softer. "We ate fruit today, Sammy and it was good." and he wasn't talking about the quality of the produce.
"Good? That was a miracle!" said Sam.
Dean grinned. "Yeah, maybe it was. It was so normal. It felt ... " His voice trailed away.
"Like home?" Sam suggested.
Dean nodded. "Exactly that." he said.
"Same for me, with Eileen. The weirdest stuff feels important. The smallest things feel good. Life just hurts less." He knew as he said it how bad that sounded, how weak, but it was true. He hoped Dean could understand what he meant.
"Yeah, I get that." said Dean, "I always wanted that for you. I love Eileen for giving it to you."
"And now maybe you have it too." said Sam.
Dean's smile was small and tentative, but sincere and hopeful. "Maybe I do." he said.